Outlaws
by Doctor7
Summary: In a freak cosmic accident, Team Rocket is sent back to the days of the old west where they run into a certain outlaw...
1. Chapter 1

There are forces beyond human comprehension that keep the universes in sync. The sheer amount of energy required for this is so mind-bogglingly enormous, that occasionally minute amounts of it must be released. These are usually dispersed in small jets of Space-time continuum energy that zoom through the universes until they dissipate. However, a small percentage of them come into contact with something that blocks their path. The consequences of such an action have so far remained unrecorded, although it has been speculated that it could result in the object or objects being removed from their own reality and placed in a completely different one. And that's where our story begins…

Jessie, James and Meowth were walking through the woods. They were minding their own business. They had absolutely no idea about the sick, cosmic joke that was about to occur. They noticed, however, when a bright flash of light enveloped around them. They had no time to react. In literally no time at all, they were in a place that was completely different from their usual scenery.

"What the-?" shrieked Jessie as she looked frantically. She was met with chorus of loud gasps. Surrounding the trio was a group of people seated in what appeared to be the passenger car of a train. To our eyes, we would have instantly recognized this as a scene from the olden days of the wild west, a small collection of people who were eager to start anew on the prairies of the new world. But to Team Rocket, it was a completely alien and odd sight. But to the passengers, the sight of Team Rocket was bizarre and strange.

"Where are we?" gasped James. He looked around at the people. The women seemed to be glaring at Jessie, while the men of the train seemed to be staring intently at her. It suddenly occurred to James that Jessie was the only one aboard whose skirt was not covering her ankles. Before he had time to ponder this correlation, somebody noticed Mewoth.

"Good Heavens, they have an ape with them," cried a nearby girl. Meowth's face contorted in annoyance.

"Ape? I'm not an ape!" cried the feline. His speech caused a great pandemonium among the passengers. Their reaction confused and disoriented Team Rocket. Although it was unusual for a Pokemon to talk, it was not entirely unheard of.

"It can talk!"

"What is it?"

"It must be possessed!" The frightened tone of the passengers started turning to anger.

"Kill it before it damns us all!" cried an elderly man. Jessie and James cried out as the passengers moved toward them. But having been chased by angry mobs before, the trio quickly resorted to their well-practiced battle plan: Find the nearest exit and run until you can no longer move. As they were towards the back of the car, this was relatively easy. They leapt over the gap, glancing down nervously at the speeding wheels below. They flung open the door to the next car and slammed it shut as they huddled inside. They looked around at their new surrounding, which was obviously a baggage car. Trunks and suitcases were piled on top of each other. Thinking fast, James slid a heavy case against the door. The trio sighed as they sat on the floor.

"Jessie…What's going on?" asked James.

"How should I know?" snapped Jessie. Meowth spoke.

"Everyone calm down," said Meowth, "I don't know where we are, and I don't care. What I wanna know is how we're getting home." Before anyone could say another word, the train suddenly slammed to a screeching halt. The trio grabbed one another in fright.

"They're coming for us," whimpered James. Jessie put her hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet!" she hissed. No one made a sound. Meowth, having the superior auditory-sensing skills that most animals have, could hear noises in the car ahead of them. It sounded as though someone was coming aboard. He heard the people gasp, and the voices of several men. He paled as he realized that the voices were coming closer to the baggage car.

"We gotta hide!" the feline whispered to his companions. They tried desperately to hide behind a few large trunks. The voices were now close enough to be heard by Jessie and James. They froze as they heard the doorknob rattle. The voices on the other side rose slightly, and the door was suddenly kicked in. In stepped six men. They were young; all of them were in their mid-twenties. They were dressed in long coats, boots, and hats. Each one carried at least one pistol in his belt.

"There ain't no demon in here," said one.

"Something had those folks scared to death, though," said another.

"Yeah, that was us, Frank." This statement prompted a laugh from the rest of the men. They stepped around the grouping of trunks that Team Rocket hid in, and moved towards the back of the car. The trio watched as the gang sat stood around a cast iron safe.

"Got the pry bar Bob?"

"Right here, Jim." The men got to work breaking into the safe and stowing the valuables in their coats. Bob turned to look at another member. "Jesse?"

"Yes?" Jessie immediately clapped her hand over her mouth. But it was too late.

"There's someone in here," said Jim. Two of the robbers walked over to where Team Rocket was hiding. They threw off the trunks, and stared down at the terrified trio.

"What in Tarnation?" cried Frank as he saw Meowth. Meowth, who was not eager to go through what he had endured in the car before them, tried to emulate an ape. But then he made a crucial mistake.

"What's an ape sound like?" he asked James. The men in the car drew their guns.

"Start talking you two," said the man who was presumably the leader as he pointed his pistol at them, "What is that thing?"

"A Pokemon," answered James. He was dissatisfied to learn this was not a sufficient explanation, as the man continued to point his gun at him.

"He's a vetril…Ventrilo….He can throw his voice!" Jessie said in a rather forced and desperate manner. James nodded vigorously.

"That don't answer my question," the leader said, "I wanna know what that thing is."

"He's a…Peruvian…Cat…Monkey," James stated, "Yes, A Peruvian Cat-Monkey!" The leader turned to look at his gang.

"You think it's legit, Frank?" Frank shook his head.

"Wait!" cried Jessie, "We can explain!" For the first time the gang members seemed to notice her, and were looking her the same way them the men in the first car were. Jessie felt uncomfortable, and seemed to shrink behind her comrades.

"Well then, go ahead. We're waiting," said the leader. The trio looked at one another, unsure what to say.

"We're performers," James blurted out.

"That's right," added Jessie. The Leader smiled. It was not a reassuring smile. It was more like the smile of a cat about to devour a mouse.

"Alright," he said as he crossed his arms, "You're performers. Perform."

"A-alright," stuttered James. He grabbed Meowth and sat him on his lap.

"So Meowth, why did the chicken cross the road?" The feline's face went blank.

"Uh…So it could…uh…" Jessie and James looked at him with desperate, pleading eyes. A minute passed, and he failed to produce an answer. Finally, the leader turned to Jessie.

"Your turn." Jessie did the first thing that came into mind, which was singing. Unfortunately, she was not well-known for her singing, and at best was considered mediocre by her colleagues.

"_Start spreading the news,"_ she sang, _"I'm leaving today, I wanna be a part of it, New York, New York!" _The gang members winced as she butchered every single note in the song.

"Someone shut her up," said Bob. Jessie immediately closed her mouth. Frank spoke up.

"Jesse, we'd better get out of here."

"Hold on a second," said the leader as he turned to Team Rocket, "What are your names?"

"Jessie."

"James."

"Meowth." At this, the leader laughed.

"Well I'll be. This is a coincidence if I've ever seen one."

"Why's that?"

"My name's Jesse James." The gang leader and his comrades fled out the way they had come in, leaving Team Rocket in a state of confusion.


	2. Chapter 2

James looked at Jessie.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Don't look at me!" she cried, "I'm not the leader!"

"I thought you were," said Meowth. All three of them heard voices from the car in front of them.

"Let's get off the train," Jessie said as she fled out of the open door. Her collogues followed after her, and jumped onto the ground. The trio looked around at the scenery. It was a heavily wooded area, apparently devoid of any sort of human settlement.

"I changed my mind," Jessie said as she turned around. But it was too late. The train had already started moving, and there was no way they could catch up with it. They stared at it until it disappeared, and stood for a full moment in absolute silence.

"Jessie, I'm scared," murmured James.

"So am I," added Meowth.

"Would both of you knock it off?" snapped Jessie, "Just…Make yourselves useful!"

"How?" asked James. Jessie slugged him in the stomach. The unfortunate Rocket member fell to the ground, twitching in pain and agony. Meowth backed away from his associates.

Unknown to them, a pair of eyes was watching from the thicket of abundant plant-life. They were enormous, and were half-hidden beneath a thick carpet of coal-black fur. The eyes examined the three strange beings who had come into the forest. The large mouth beneath the eyes frowned, exposing gigantic teeth. They were yellowed and caked with plaque, but were still strong and healthy. The beast that they were attached to called out.

Team Rocket jumped as a loud bellow filled the air. They wrapped their arms around each other in fear.

"W-what was that?" stuttered Jessie.

"Our cue to get out of here," gulped Meowth. Moments after he spoke, a nauseating smell entered their nostrils. The trio simultaneously gagged. It was far worse than anything they had ever smelled before. The three criminals looked for a place to hide. They spotted a large bush not too far from the tracks. This was their usual camouflage for their various schemes, so they jumped at the opportunity to use it. As they dove into the vegetation, the trio suddenly hit something that was large, furry, and solid like a rock. A large creature stood out and roared. Team Rocket found themselves looking at the most terrifying thing they had ever seen. It was enormous, over seven feet tall. It was big and brawny, and covered in long, dirt-caked fur that was black as midnight. Its head was as big and round as a pumpkin, with red eyes the size of silver dollars. It had a broad mouth that snarled at them, showing Team Rocket its ape-like incisors. The trio screamed in fright as the beast let out a series of grunts and gurgles. They then proceeded to hightail it out of the area, stumbling as they ran. They only stopped when they couldn't run any further. They collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"What was that?" cried Meowth. No one answered him, as they did not know and were too tired to try. Suddenly another sound broke through the air. The Trio's eyes widened as they heard the snapping of a twig. Fearful that the creature had pursued, they looked around for the ape-like monstrosity they had just encountered. Instead they saw a short, ugly little man in a weathered coat and hat. His shoulders were slightly hunched, and he was so hairy he looked a little like the creature they had just seen. He peered at them curiously through dirty glasses. His brow furrowed as his large, broad nostrils took in the air.

"Pardon me," he asked in a gravelly voice, "But have you just seen anything that seemed unusual? Per chance, a large and smelly ape-man?"

"Y-yes…" replied James, "How did you know?" The man extended his hand toward the Rocket operative. "Fredrick Lodger. I've been following it for days." He raised an eyebrow. "Your hair is purple." James nodded stupidly. The stranger suddenly noticed Meowth. "That is a peculiar animal you have."

"Who you callin' an animal?" the feline said disdainfully. Fredrick's eyes widened.

"Impossible," he muttered. Jessie immediately stood in front of Meowth.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said as she grinned, "He's a Ventrili-whatever." She pointed her finger at James. Fredrick continued to stare at the feline.

"What is it?"

"He's a…Peruvian…Cat…Monkey?" James answered hopefully. The man eyed them suspiciously.

"Alright," he responded, "Where did you see it?"

"See what?" asked Jessie.

"The ape-man. I call him Momo," responded Fredrick. All three members of Team Rocket looked at him nervously, as one would look at a dangerous lunatic.

"Somewhere over there," James said as he pointed a shaking finger the way they'd come.

"Thank you," replied Fredrick as he started off.

"Wait!" called Jessie. Fredrick turned around.

"Yes?"

"Where are we?" James asked timidly. A look of realization washed over Fredrick's face.

"Oh," he muttered, "I see. There's a road two miles that way," he said as he thrust his finger west, "Follow it north and you'll find yourself in Razorback." Before Team Rocket could ask anymore questions, he disappeared into the trees.

"What a strange person," James said aloud.

"I'll say," Jessie muttered, "He didn't even offer to take us there."

"I ain't too eager to go through those woods again," said Meowth, "Especially with that that thing runnin' around."

"Or those crooks," added James. Jessie grabbed them both by the arm and started dragging them into the forest.

"Come on you two," she said as she stomped through the bushes, "We're going and that's final. Do you want to spend the night here?" Neither James nor Meowth could say they wanted to, and so followed their unofficial leader into the dense trees. They jumped every time they heard a twig snap.

Finally they came to the road. It wasn't exactly a road, but instead was more of a series of ruts in the ground made from stagecoaches.

"Just look at this," growled Jessie, "How are we supposed to follow it? And he had the nerve to call it a road!"

"Calm down Jess," said Meowth, "You're gonna give yourself a heart attack."

"Shut up," snapped Jessie.

"Which way did he say to go?" James asked feebly.

"North," replied Jessie. There was a long pause in the conversation. A crow cawed in the distance.

"Which way is north?" asked Meowth. James looked up at the setting sun.

"Well, the sun sets in the west, right?" he said. His companions nodded.

"Then it's that way!" he said as he pointed his finger south.


End file.
